Felon charged with robbing two banks in Warren, asks police if he can keep money he won at casino

Posted Aug 14 2019 04:31PM EDT

WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Warren Police said one man was arrested earlier this week for bank robberies in Warren and Oak Park. When arrested, the police chief said he asked if he could keep the money that he had won from gambling at the casino.

The two bank robberies both happened Tuesday, one at Citizen's Bank on Van Dyke in Warren and the other at Comerica near 10 Mile and Coolidge.

According to police, the Warren robbery happened just after 9:15 Friday. The suspect walked in, asked about opening an account and then produced a note saying it was a robbery. The clerk handed over the money and the then left.

It was determined the teller's drawer was short $1,222.

The suspect was described as a black man, 25-35 years old, 5'10" - 6'01" tall, 160 - 170 pounds, wearing a black sweatsuit with white stripes. They also said he drove off in a silver Cadillac DTS.

A few hours later, around 3:15 p.m., Oak Park reported the bank robbery at Comerica. The suspect entered the bank, said he wanted to open an account, gave a note saying it was a robbery, and then left in a silver Cadillac DTS.

Through the investigation, Warren police identified the suspect in both robberies as Dorian Sykes, 35. Investigators said his car is the same as described in the crimes and has prior federal convictions for bank robbery and gun crimes. They said Sykes served almost 15 years in federal prison.

Sykes was eventually found at Motor City Casino the next day. According to police chief Bill Dwyer, he gambled the money he took in the robbery and even asked police if he could keep the money he had won from gambling that money.

During the interview with Warren detectives and the FBI, officials said he confessed to the robberies.

The FBI will handle prosecution of the crimes as Sykes has prior convictions in the federal system and is currently on federal parole.

Sykes was convicted in 2002 of robbing a Warren bank and a Detroit bank where he and his partner robbed the bank of more than $200,000.